Secrets
by Naoki Ichigo
Summary: A short fanfiction about Hakuryuu who likes wearing dresses, makeup etc. meeting Judar in a palace which is hidden in a forest. Both befriend and share their little secrets with each other. When they are together they can be themselves.
1. Chapter 1

The story will probably have about 3 or 4 chapters only.

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Hakuryuu liked dressing in fine clothes. It didn't matter to him whether those clothes were intended for be for men or women. As long as they looked good on him and he felt comfortable in them it did not matter at all. Unfortunately, his family had a different opinion on that. A prince had to wear the appropriated clothes for every event. Wearing women's clothes as a prince was not acceptable! When he had been a child it was alright for him to dress up as a girl because he was just playing with his sister. Now that he was a teenager it was not alright anymore. He was too old to play such games. Too old to play games in general. There were no excuses anymore to not be dressed appropriated. But Hakuryuu still loved wearing nice clothes. And so he decided to rebel!

He would sneak out of the palace and visit the market place. There he bought fabrics, makeup, hair ornaments, shoes and other things. Only so much as he could easily hide from the guards, servants and his own family in case they would find him when he returned to the palace.  
Whenever his sister threw her old clothes away or sorted her jewelry out he helped her. Thereby he took a few things with him. No one would miss them. The palace was filled with beautiful stuff he was not allowed to wear or even possess because he was a prince. No words could descript how much he hated that. Not being able to tell or show what he liked, to keep such a secret from his family, to hide and deny a part of who he really was did hurt and made him feel so wrong. It felt as if there was something terribly wrong with him and that he should fix it. He was worrying his family.  
Hakuryuu did not change and tried to ignore that feeling as good as he could. The time he was happy with doing what he liked was worth it.

Near the crown city was a forest. Inside said forest was a palace. As child he had heard many stories about the palace and the forest. A witch lived there they said. The palace was haunted by the souls of its former inhabitants. Those who entered the forest never returned. There were more fairy tales, but those were so far-fetched that he did not believe them, not even as a child. However, he still dreamed of all the possibilities that could have caused people to abandon their home. Maybe there really was a demon, a witch, a strange animal, a god or ghosts.  
Once he had asked his big brother Hakuren about the forest. Hakuren told him that their father went into the forest and got lost in it. Of course their father managed to get out or else none of them would have been born. Their father hadn't found a palace, instead came across a few skeletons. Hakuryuu had then asked his father about it, but it had been in vain. His father could barely remember his adventure in the forest and Hakuryuu already heard the things his father remembered from Hakuren. In the end, all he could do was to dream about the things that might be inside the forest and the palace.

Never had he thought that he would pay the forest a visit. For a long time Hakuryuu had been able to hide the dresses, makeup etc. from his family – there had been a few incidents in which they almost found out –, but one day his father saw him in a dress and was far away from being pleased. What followed was the worst.  
Hakutoku was a stern man. He had his opinions and believes. It was hard to convince him of things that differs from his point of view. One could argue with him and he took one serious but it was still hard to change Hakutoku. Hakuryuu knew that a lot of people were afraid of his father because he was powerful and merciless – Hakuryuu had saw his father as a man that was hard with himself and with others, but he was also fair –, but Hakuryuu never had been afraid of his father before. Towards him and his siblings his father had been kind, sometimes a little bit harsh, but all in all very caring.  
The day his father had seen him in the dress was the day Hakuryuu started to be afraid of his father. It was the first time his father shouted at him, the first time his father hit him and the first time Hakuryuu saw his father as something else than a human. After that day Hakuryuu stopped looking up to his father, stopped seeing him as a human, answers his father's questions as short as possible and tried to avoid contact. The family dinner became awaked and unpleasant and Hakuryuu started to eat less at dinner. If he still was hungry afterwards he sneaked into the kitchen and took from the leftovers or cooked something himself. Cooking, another thing a prince should not do. Another secret.  
Hakuryuu did run away from home that day. His family did not want him, so he left. Actually, he had not planned to leave home forever, just a little time out. The bag he had packed was filled with a few dresses, makeup, hair ornaments, jewelry and a pair of shoes. He also had put some food inside. He needed to hide his belongings better, so he had to get them out of the palace. His father would take them away from him otherwise.

In his search for a place to hide his stuff and to calm down Hakuryuu entered the forest. It was a normal forest. Trees on the left. Trees on the right. Trees in front. Trees behind. Trees everywhere. One could get easily lost in here, nevertheless Hakuryuu had already thought about how to mark his way so he would find his way back home. If he hadn't been so angry he would have paid more attention to his surroundings and enjoyed the many unknown plants. Some of them only existed in the forest.  
Since Hakuryuu had no destination he wandered around while it got darker and darker. Soon he would not be able to see much anymore and it got colder as well. He had forgotten to put warmer clothes in his bad, he also forgot rainwear. Of course it started raining. Hakuryuu's mood got worse. This was all his father's fault! Hopefully the makeup would not get damaged.

It took Hakuryuu hours to reach the forest's palace. He was so happy to finally have found a place to hide from the cold and the rain. Unfortunately, the roof and the walls of the building were damaged so the wind and the rain could still get inside. Therefore, he searched for a room which wasn't damaged or at least not as much as the rest. Such a room was not found easily, but it existed. When he found said room Hakuryuu looked through his bag in search of dry clothes. Most things were wet or damp. However some were not. To make sure that everything could became dry he spread them out on the ground. Also he ate something because he hadn't done so since breakfast. His feet hurt and he was cold. However, he did not regret leaving home. He also did not think about his family at the moment. They probably had not realized that he was gone anyway. So why bother with them? Hakuryuu's thoughts were busy with thinking how amazing it was that the palace did really exist and that he found it. A part of him also thought about how cold it was and that he should search for a blanket. Freezing to death or catching a cold was undesirable. And so he started his scouting expedition through the palace with a new outfit – a few clothes were still dry and so he changed his clothes.

The building reminded Hakuryuu of the palace in Rakushou. However, it seemed that the walls were sometimes painted with unknown signs, maybe letters, and sceneries which looked like out of a book. The palace in Rakushou did not possess such walls.  
Maybe the former inhabitants of this place had built the palace in Rakushou as well. Ancestors of them? Would be great. But his teacher never mentioned something like this. His teacher never mentioned anything about the origins of the Kou Empire and its people.  
When Hakuryuu heard a loud sound which he couldn't identify he startled and turned around. Was someone besides him here? Or was it an animal? If so, was it a nice one or dangerous one? And if it was a human, was it a nice one? Maybe one that grow up here? The last of his kind? Or just a bandit? Whatever the cause of the sound had been it probably was better not to search for it. In the horror stories he had heard from Hakuren searching for the cause would led to one's death. Hakuryuu didn't want to die! His curiosity was not happy with that but before he could explore the palace anyway he needed some light. If the former inhabitants left their home forcefully than they might have left a few things behind and hopefully one of those things were candles. Soon he would not be able to see anymore because it would be too dark. With enough candles he could possibly warm himself up. Well probably not.

In the end Hakuryuu found some candles and candleholders which was great because now he didn't have to hold the candle all the time and didn't have to deal with the wax. Getting wax on one's hand wasn't nice. Now he only needed something to light the candles. Since it was really dark already, the search was more a "search with the hand and try to feel whether it is what you want or not" than a "search with the eyes". It was so frustrating! More than once Hakuryuu cursed and more than once he hit his feet against something.

After searching for a long time, a lot of pain and swearing he finally found what he wanted and lit one of the candles. The light was dim and Hakuryuu did not saw so much more than before, but at least he could see a little bit better and that was preferable to seeing nothing, right?

When Hakuryuu reached the room in which he had left his things he sat down on the floor, put the candleholders next to him and put the candles inside. As expected it didn't get warmer but brighter. Hopefully, his clothes would get dry and wouldn't smell like wood or anything.  
He was freezing, but it was too dark to try to get home. Hence he had to stay the night and hope that no one would eat him or that he froze to death.

At some point Hakuryuu felt asleep. His sleep was restless and he woke up multiple times. As soon as the sun would rise he would change back in his old, hopefully dry, clothes and return home, hopefully without being noticed.


	2. Chapter 2

Please be so kind and leave a review, in case you liked it or want to give me some constructive criticism.

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 _The_ next morning started even before sunrise for Hakuryuu. After he woke up, he checked whether his clothes were dry again, they were not totally dry, but better than being wet certainly. So he changed into the clothes of yesterday. The candle he had lit yesterday had burned down, so he had to light a new one. Next he thought about where to put his other things. There was enough space for them, still he was not sure whether he should just leave them on the ground or put them into one of the old and damaged cupboards. Besides that what about bugs? Yes, this was a late thought, however that did not change the fact that bugs were a problem. Probably there was no way to get rid of that problem, so he better thought about how to ensure that those more or less small animals did not get near his things. He should ask one of the servants at home, if they had any idea how to do that. The palace, his home, was free of any unwanted inhabitant. Bur before asking he should think of a good explanation why he needed that information. Not that he had to justify himself to a servant, but when his mother hears about his questions, she might want to know, why he wanted that information. Hakuryuu had become a good liar over the years. Always hiding before your family had his "good" sides – he would be able and happy to live without those "good" sides, because he didn't saw them as something good.  
For now Hakuryuu decided to leave the clothes where they were since he planned to return to the forest palace in the afternoon or evening – and he couldn't do anything against the bugs no matter what he did, so he shouldn't bother with it for now. He had marked his way, when he came here, so he should be able to go back home and later return without problems, right? No one believed in the forest palace and no one entered the forest anyway, because of some childish fairy tales. Wasn't it strange that the people at home believed in witches, mutated animals, ghosts and other fantasy creatures, but not in a building inside said forest? On the other hand, as long as people did not believe in the palace, Hakuryuu had a perfect hiding place! Hopefully, his father hadn't found his current hiding place and disposed his dresses, makeup, hair ornaments etc.  
Hakuryuu had spent a lot of time in collecting all of them! He didn't want it to go to waste!

When the sun rose Hakuryuu walked home. He felt terrible. At home he should take a hot bath and maybe sleep again. Getting sick was undesirable. He needed to hide his things as soon as possible! That his clothes were still damp and the cold wind were not helpful in staying well. Nonetheless Hakuryuu somehow managed to get home without being noticed, which was very hard since more soldiers than usual were patrolling. Fortunately, he knew the palace very well and therefore knew which way to go to avoid being seen. The soldiers probably knew those ways as well, but for whatever reason they did not patrol there. This could be a problem in case of an attack. Maybe he should tell his brothers about this security problem? On the other hand, he would make things harder for himself, too. He would think about it later, when his mind was clearer. At the moment he only wanted to get a hot bath, get dry, lay down in his warm bed and sleep. Everything was so cold and uncomfortable right now.  
As soon as he reached his room he entered the bathroom.  
The water felt great and if he hadn't been cautious he might have fallen asleep. Drowning while bathing was not the goal!

Hakuryuu had not wasted a single thought on his family. He hadn't thought about the possibility that the rise in soldiers was because if his disappearance. So when his mother entered his room – Hakuryuu had already finished his bath and had went to bed – and woke him from his sleep, he was surprised. Apparently a servant that had taken a look into the prince's room had reported the empress the return of her son. It took Hakuryuu a few seconds to understand what was going on. Of course, his mother would be worried. She probably didn't knew about his fight with his father. When she asked what happened and where he had been, he just told her that he had been somewhere. She did accept his answer for now. Perhaps because she was just happy that he was back and fine. And maybe she thought he would tell her later, when he was better. He did not! He had found a save place for himself and he would not risk losing that place!  
Hakuryuu's mother left him after he reassured her that he was fine. He did go back to sleep and only woke up to lunch when a servant brought him something to eat. After a few bites he pushed the plate away and laid down again. Seemed like he has gotten sick already. Great! Really great!  
So he had to change his plans which wasn't so bad at second thought. Even when he would go back into the forest in the afternoon or evening someone would check on him. It was better to go during daytime when everyone was busy and when he had better options for an excuse. During the day he could be anywhere in the palace, but in the afternoon and evening there weren't that many options, especially in the evening, when he was sick. The afternoon meant free time for Hakuryuu, while he had to study in the morning. Sometimes his studies were monitored by a teacher, but he also had free studies. During that time he could go anywhere. Hence if he left during that time and someone later asked him where he had been, he could just say he had been in one of the big libraries in which one could overlook someone pretty easily! Or that he had been on one of the trainings grounds. Most people would not check out all places and even when they did, there still was the change that he had been there but left shortly before the people who was searching for him came. The afternoon meant free time for Hakuryuu, but since he was sick now and his mother was already worried – she would look after him a lot and if he weren't in his bed or room how should he explain that to her – disappearing again was a bad idea. The same applied for the evening, although that was not a good option anyway. Going into a forest when it was dark was not a good idea and he risked to get lost. Further, how should he explain to anyone why he wasn't in his bed at night? It would be too suspicious.

Besides sleeping Hakuryuu thought about how to store his things in the forest palace. He had a box for his makeup and hair ornaments. But how should he get said box there? Carrying it there was an option, however was he able to hide it from the servants and soldiers? A wooden box was hard to hide or explain. If it was a small box, one that could easily be put into a pocket or hide behind one's back, then he hadn't had a problem. Albeit the box was small and light enough for him to carry it around without much problems that was not enough in this case, since it was not possible to hide it behind his back or put it into a pocket.  
Fortunately, Hakuryuu's father hadn't found his hiding place. Well, it seemed like his father hadn't even started to search for it.  
In the end it didn't really matter! His things were still there and that was what mattered and he had found a better hiding place for them anyway.

In the late afternoon Hakutoku visited his son Hakuryuu. One could think he had been worried and would apologize to his son, but that wasn't the case. Yes, Hakutoku had been worried about his son, but he wouldn't admit it. No, he would not apologize to his son. He hadn't done anything wrong! His son should be the one who apologizes. He had been the one who had made everyone worry. He was the one who did not apply to the rules of the world. And that was what Hakutoku wanted to tell Hakuryuu. The boy should finally stop being a child and be a man! And men did not wear dresses or makeup! Hakuyuu, Hakuren and Hakuei had their rebellious phase as well, but none of them had acted out of the way like Hakuryuu. None of them would have brought so much shame upon themselves or the family with their rebellion. Maybe his son had spent too much time with his mother and sister and needed some guidance by his father and his big brothers.  
He would knock that nonsense out of Hakuryuu.  
Hakuryuu didn't say anything when his father spoke to him and told him that from now on he had to attend the war councils as well. Normally, Hakuryuu would already be a part of the army, but since everyone considered him too weak and not cut out for war, he wasn't. Now his father thought it would be a good thing for him to join the army and finally became a man therewith. Hakuryuu thought it was stupid. His cousin Kouha was not really the definition of manliness and was a part of the army. On the other hand, there was nothing he could do against the decision of his father besides ignoring it. The war councils were a hindrance to his plans and those were already postponed enough with his sickness.  
Hakuryuu was done with his father! He wasn't sure what it was, but something had broken between him and his father and was now beyond repair. Before yesterday he would have followed his father's words without questioning them. Maybe it was because of what his father had said. Maybe it was because of what his father had done. Maybe it was the slow realization that his family did not accept him. Something he knew for a long time, but always had pushed out of his mind. Just didn't want to accept it!

After his father had left, Hakuryuu returned to his planning on how to get the wooden box out of the palace and when he should do it. At the end he decided to go into the forest the day after tomorrow. His body needed rest and things between him and his family should calm down a little bit. Also with his father's decision he needed a good plan on how to get out of that. Just ignoring it and therefore just not going to the councils wouldn't work in the long run. However, that was his approach for now. That would cause more tension in his family, but that was a risk he was willing to take. Hakuryuu knew that he was contracting himself – since he wanted the tension between everyone to calm down and at the same time he was ready to risk it to get worse –, but he did not really care much about it. Life was a little bit chaotic right now anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Please be so kind and write a review after reading!**

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Sometimes there were those strange occurrences in which one was unlucky yet at the same time lucky. Hakuryuu had gotten sick and had to stay in bed for a few weeks – and silently cried about the things he left in the forest –, during those weeks his father had to go to the battlefield again. Therefore, Hakuryuu, now that he was well again, hadn't had to attend any war councils. Finally he could go into the forest again. All he had to do now was to wait until his fighting lesson was over and his free time began. Gyokuen, his mother, would be occupied with Hakuei, his older sister, for the rest of the day, so no one would search form him. And if one of the soldiers would see him, he could tell them that he was about to make a short walk or better said a ride, since he decided to take the horse. He would ride to the forest and from the glade of the forest to the palace he would carry his things – a chest filled with clothes, makeup and jewelry. And since he took the horse he was able to transport more things to the place at once. It was just a question of time until his father was back at home and drags him to one boring council to the next and even though Hakutoku hadn't had said anything about Hakuryuu's remaining dresses, makeup, jewelry and so on didn't mean that the man forgot about them.

After taking a bath Hakuryuu packed all necessities for his little journey into the forest. This time he also took a raincoat with him and a lamp. He definitely didn't want to get sick again. Any further delay of his "rescue mission" was not allowed!

On his way to the horse stables he passed several servants and soldiers. Some of them gave him an interrogative look, but no one asked where he was going or what he was up to. Others probably were too busy with their own work as to pay attention to him, which was better for him, since those people would not remember seeing him. The others could report him to his mother, on the other hand they may not do so since there was no sign of him doing something strange or forbidden, so they would only tell the empress about him when the empress asked them. Maybe he would serve as the gossip of the day for some of the servants. How often had he heard others speaking ill of him? How often had he even heard others gossiping about his father, brothers, sister and mother? How often had he heard people making up things between his older sister Hakuei and their cousin Kouen? How often did those people think no one heard them? He heard them all! He just never said anything about it. It wouldn't change anything anyway. And it was nothing new to him that people, probably even his own family, thought badly about him. He was weak, stupid, useless and strange, he was nothing like his brothers. Hakuren and Hakuyuu were everything he was not! They were perfect. He had no place in an empire like Kou in which only military strength was important. He was not fitting their norms, so he was worth nothing. He struggled for years with this realization and he still did, but it was a fact he knew and tried to accept. As long as he stayed in the shadows, he could more or less live a nice and quiet life.

When Hakuryuu reached the room in which he had left his things a few weeks ago, he looked around in search of his clothes. He had left them on the ground, but they weren't there anymore. Instead of his dresses there was a chest. Curious as he was, he put his bag and the chest he had brought at the ground, he inspected the unknown chest. It was nothing special, made out of wood, no engravings and a lock, which was not closed. Therefore, Hakuryuu could open it, if he wanted to. He wanted and so he did open it.

To his surprise all the things he had left behind where inside. Neatly folded.

Before his head could came to the conclusion that this meant that someone had been here, someone appeared behind Hakuryuu.

"Did your mother not taught you not to sift through other people's belongings?"

Hakuryuu was startled so much that he jumped up, turned around and stumbled backwards what caused him to fall over the chest. His landing on the wooden ground was far from pleasant. Of course the strange laughed at Hakuryuu. Great! Now Hakuryuu only wanted to curl up and die! Why was there never a hole to sink into when needed? What a cruel world.

Someone once said that attack was the best form of defense. Consequently, Hakuryuu jumped up onto his feet again: "I am not sifting through other people's belonging, since those things inside are mine! Who are you anyway? You know that is rude to scare someone and then not even apologize! I got hurt because of you!"

"Eh? How is it my fault that you're a scaredy-cat? If you hadn't done something bad, you wouldn't have been scared by me at all! The chest is mine and you opened it without asking! And the things inside are also mine, because I found them!", the strange shouted back.

He had leaned against the doorframe, of course he didn't do so while he was laughing about Hakuryuu, but now he had taken a few step away from the door – closer to Hakuryuu – one foot in front, his hands clenched into a fist and his posture tensed. He was ready to fight Hakuryuu!

Hakuryuu did the same! He would not lose to such an insolent brat!  
"Just because you found them doesn't make them yours! They are mine!", claimed the blue eyed prince forcibly.  
"Do you have any proof that they are yours?"

With a cheeky smile on his face the stranger crossed his arms. He probably thought he had won this argument, but he was wrong!

"Well, they fit me and I look great in them!", Hakuryuu states as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and enough as solid proof. Just like the stranger he had crossed his arms and smiled cheekily.  
"Huh? What kind of stupid reason is that? You have no proof that those clothes belong to you!", stated the still unknown person and pointed at Hakuryuu.

"This is a totally valid reason! No one would keep things they look ugly in, less even buy them in the first place! By the way, where is your proof that the chest is yours, huh?"  
Again Hakuryuu copied the other one's pose.

"I have a key to the chest. As you can see there is a lock and a lock can only be opened with the right key! And since I am the one who has the key, the chest is mine!"  
"You could have stolen the key, just like you took my clothes", Hakuryuu calmly stated, "How about you use that key and lock the chest to prove that you really are in possession of the right one. However, it won't change the fact that this will prove nothing. You already admitted that those things inside are not yours, since you only found them. They are mine and I am here to get them back, so return them!"

"Alright, then you have to put on the clothes inside!"

This argument got ridiculous!

"You're not only a thief, but also a pervert!"  
"I am not a pervert!"  
"You are!"  
"I am not!"  
"You are, otherwise you wouldn't want me to change!"  
"You're just afraid that your lie is exposed! I never said you have to change in front of me! You're the liar and pervert!"

Both teenager stared angrily at each other for a while until Hakuryuu agreed. They would not get anywhere with this conservation and as soon as he had his clothes on, the other one could not take them away again.

So, he took his things out of the chest and then told the other one to first prove that he had the key. It wasn't surprising that he could not, because conveniently he hadn't had the key with him. Well, Hakuryuu didn't mind. The chest was not his problem and he got his things back, so whether the chest was stolen or not, was not important. Still, the other one insisted that he had to put one of the dresses on. At first Hakuryuu tried to argue that since the other one hadn't proven to be the owner of the chest he hadn't had to prove that the clothes were his. But after another dispute that leaded to nowhere he gave up. Now that he knew that someone else lived here or nearby, he needed a different hiding place. As soon as he left more of his stuff here the stranger would claim it for himself and that was not the goal. Why couldn't he be lucky for once? The only place where no one would search for clothes and makeup – besides maybe some thieves – was the royal tomb. Not quite a nice place for a hideout. Maybe he could hide his stuff in the forest, just at a different place. The forest was not small, so there must be another place for him.

"At least turn around while I am changing, pervert!", Hakuryuu ordered.

The stranger had refused to leave the room, because Hakuryuu theoretically could run away. Something he could do anyway, but it was harder to do with someone in your way.

"Alright, alright."  
Without any further delay the other turned around and Hakuryuu started to change his clothes. Both of them wanted to be done with it, ignoring the fact that they could have had it easier, if they weren't acting so childish. Of course, none of them wanted to admit this and preferred to blame the other one.

After Hakuryuu put on his dress he allowed the still nameless person to turn around again and take a look. He felt highly uncomfortable with being examines like this and the creepy smile in the other one's face did not make it any better.

"What?", Hakuryuu snapped at black haired stranger.

"Nothing. But you were right, they really do fit and look good on you."  
"Well, then I will take my leave now! Bye!"  
"Hey, not so fast …"  
"I am not having another dispute about whether those clothes belong to me or not. You were to able to proof your point and you will not accept any of my proofs, so let it be, pervert!", Hakuryuu interrupted the other.  
"Stop calling me a pervert. First of all I have name and second I am not the guy in a dress!"

"How does wearing a dress classify one as a pervert? By the way, you're wearing makeup!"  
"That's something different!"  
"Is not! I am done with those stupid disputes! Do whatever you want, but do it without me!"

He had better, more important things to do then to have one argument after the other with a rude idiot.

Unfortunately, the other one didn't let him go so easily.

"You're such a rude, brat!"  
Hakuryuu stayed silent.

"I am the magnificent magician Judar! You must be an idiot to not know me!", Judar bragged, while still being ignored.

He must be the idiot for not know who Hakuryuu was. It was common knowledge that the names of the sons of Ren Hakutoku, the emperor of the great Kou Empire, all started with "Haku". And it was known that Hakutoku had three sons. Further, all four children of the emperor looked pretty much alike. So, even if Judar had never heard of Hakuryuu, which wasn't surprising actually, he should know Hakuren and Hakuyuu and know how those two look like. Everything else was just putting one and one together!

Despite Hakuryuu not reacting to Judar's attempts to start a conversation, the latter gave not up and followed the prince through the forest. It was hard to keep the tears at bay. Hakuryuu always had been someone who easily started to cry, he had already stated to snivel a bit. Fortunately, Judar hadn't realized it yet or didn't care about it.

When he reached his horse Judar looked somewhat sad.

"You're leaving? When will you be back? You know, you can leave your stuff here. I won't take it. Hey, say something! Don't be a crybaby."  
"I am not coming back and less will I leave my stuff here. I do not trust you at all!", blubbered Hakuryuu out which surprised Judar, but he stayed silent on it.

And with that Hakuryuu took his leave. He had another hideout in mind, one he had thought of before the forest. It was not that great, but better than nothing.

Judar did not follow him, rather he did not move from his spot at the glade.


	4. Chapter 4

I am sorry for the long wait. A lot was up and I was busy with my Hakuryuu One Shots, which I will post during October, so this one here had to wait a bit.  
There will be another chapter, since Judar and Hakuryuu didn't do what they should have in chapter 3, so I have to fix it. However, chapter 5 will be the last one (probably).

 **Please write a review after reading.**

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After meeting Judar Hakuryuu hadn't had returned to the forest. His new hideout was not as good as the palace in the forest, but better than nothing and it was easier to reach, what also meant that his family could reach it easier. However, he also didn't want to risk to lose his belongings to an idiot like Judar. What the hell was wrong with this guy anyway? Stealing other people's belongings and then acting as if he was the innocent one. On top of that he had even acted as if he and Hakuryuu were suddenly friends. Hakuryuu knew that his world had a lot of strange humans on it – he was probably one of them –, but Judar was too much! How could he dare to call Hakuryuu a pervert and strange for wearing female dresses. It was Judar, who run around half naked and with makeup on his face. Hakuryuu had only seen female dancers doing such a thing! No man would do something like that. That guy really had some nerves. And yes, even after so many weeks Hakuryuu was still angry at the other boy. Just thinking about his face made Hakuryuu angry and he wanted to punch someone – preferably Judar himself, which was not possible.  
Hakutoku had come back from the battlefield, which meant that Hakuryuu now had to attend the war meetings and it was the most boring experience he ever had made. How was it possible to not fall asleep? It cost him so much effort not to nod of, while the old geezer were discussion the same shit over and over again. Maybe they did so, because they forgot that they already had talked about it? It was a possibility, but he never had thought that his father was this forgetful or old – Hakutoku wasn't the youngest anymore, but he wasn't on a grandpa level either. Maybe things would be more interesting, if Hakuryuu would be interested in war and murder, but it actually disgusted him. Also it could have been helpful, when he also could say something or interact more with the rest. Just staying at the side and listening to others made him feel dump and unwanted. Like some kind of foreign body. Luckily Hakuren and Hakuyuu tried their best to make things a bit nicer for their younger brother, but there wasn't much they could do. Both disliked the decision of their father, mostly because they didn't want their younger brother on the battlefield – he shouldn't experience the horror of war – and because they thought it might be better to give Hakuryuu lessons about strategist or a heads-up about the war itself. Hakuryuu had fighting lessons and was educated on politics, which included the current situation, the current war, but he was still lacking and it was not his fault. Gyokuen also did her best to shield her youngest son against the war and everything related to it – two sons on the battlefield were more than enough, she didn't want her last son to also endanger himself. One could say that Hakuryuu was quite pampered by his family, but only as long as he fitted his role. Unfortunately his hobbies and interests barley fitted his assigned role as third prince of the military Kou Empire. He wouldn't mind it too much, if people weren't reminding him of this fact all day long and act, as if he had some kind of deadly illness. He had no interest in war or fighting. Yes, he liked sparing with his brothers, but he didn't want to go into real combat. The people of his country should use their strength for something else instead of stupid wars. Well, in defense for the Kou Empire, the current war was not one they had started. The conflict between the three little kingdoms existed for a very, very long time and just had escalated. If they wouldn't fight this war, Hakuryuu's family would have been killed a long time ago and the citizen of Kou would probably all be enslaved or killed. Still, he didn't like war and less did he like his father's dream of uniting the whole world under one ruler, because this meant more wars. But who was he to have such an opinion?

After the war meetings Hakuyuu and Hakuren often offered they younger brother to spent time with him, however most of the times they were rejected. Hakuryuu was too tired and annoyed to be with his brothers and preferred to do his own thing, which included secretly bringing his belongings into his new hideout. Sometimes he also sneaked away, which was not really sneaking away, because he always had to take a guard with him, from the palace into the city. Unfortunately he couldn't do this too often, because he had to go through the main gate and the guard there would report his leaving to his father and he always had a soldier by his side. In his opinion the soldier only exposed his identity, so maybe it would be saver if he would go alone. Barely anyone new about him – but people knew his brothers and he looked a little bit too much like Hakuyuu. If it weren't for the scar, one could think the third prince was a copy of the first prince. As young child he had felt proud about this fact, nowadays it annoyed him. He was his own person and didn't want to be compared to his older brothers all the time, especially not the crown prince. There were worlds between them. Why comparing an ant with and elephant? This world didn't mean well with him.

What Hakuryuu was annoyed about the most was not his father and the stupid war meetings or his brothers or people, who compared him to them, or Judar himself – although Judar was responsible for it –, it was the fact that he couldn't go into the forest and its palace anymore. No one was stopping him from doing so, but there was the risk of meeting Judar again and this was something Hakuryuu wanted to avoid at all costs. Therefore it was the best not to visit the forest palace anymore. He really had loved to take a look around and find out, why the palace had been abandoned. It also would have been great to tell his brothers something they didn't know, because most of the time it was them, who taught him new things. So turning it around sounded like a lot of fun. Well, this dream would ever stay at dream as it seemed. And all because of that stupid pervert Judar!

It was a rainy afternoon after surviving another exhausting war meeting on which Hakuryuu decided to ignore Judar's existence and visit the forest palace. He was about to die out of boredom. So, when after rejecting his older brothers' offer, he went to his room and prepared for his little journey to the forest. Therefore he also sneaked into the kitchen to get some food. Further he put some exchange clothes in his back, just in case. Maybe he also should take a few candles with him, since it was pretty dark already and it wouldn't get better at the end of the day. When he finished his packing he paid a visit to his mother and his sister. Both had the tendency to show up at his room to ask him about his day, so instead of risking them finding out he wasn't there and maybe starting to worry, he went to them to tell them about his day. There was nothing wrong or suspicions about it, right? Just a son wanting to talk a bit with his mother after an exhausting meeting. Just a younger brother wanting to talk to his older sister for a bit after an exhausting meeting. Hakuyuu and Hakuren had wanted to spare together and then had to attend to their normal work schedule, so those two were no threat to his plan and his father never showed up at his room ever since their dispute, besides to get him for the meetings. Hakuryuu thought it was ridiculous for his father to more or less escort him to the meetings, but he also couldn't change it. Seemingly Hakutoku thought his youngest son might skip the meetings and therefore ignore his orders. The only order Hakuryuu had ever refused to follow was the one to get rid of his dresses and makeup. He had followed every other order without complaining. Well, honestly after what had happened and how his father treated him now, Hakuryuu was definitely not ready to follow any order anymore – at least not those he didn't like.  
His mother and his sister were happy that he came to visit them and the conversation lasted longer than he had expected, but there was still enough time for him to go to the other palace and be back when it was bed time. Or maybe he should just stay there forever and never return home, however this would increase the chances of running into Judar. What a cruel world! After he left the two, he got his bag and went to the stables and from there he made his way to the forest. The rain has gotten stronger and the wind did not make it any better, but Hakuryuu had no intention of changing his plans. However, he worried about his horse. The last time he hadn't put much thought into where he should leave it and staying at the palace also hadn't really be planned. This time he also didn't plan to stay overnight, but what if something came up and he couldn't go back before nightfall? Also his horse didn't seem to like the current weather and further he was worried that it might get sick. Until now he had never heard of a sick horse – at least not of one with a cold, but this didn't mean it wasn't possible. A sick horse would rise a lot of questions. Questions Hakuryuu was not willing to answer at all. Maybe he should take it with him to the palace? There he could search of a place for it to stay for the time he was inside the palace and was save from the weather or even other animals. Another advantage of this would be the fact that he himself hadn't had to walk for so long. He wasn't a lazy person, but he also was no one, who would refuse the easy way. So, Hakuryuu decided to take the horse to the palace. Hopefully Judar really wasn't there and wouldn't claim the horse to be his. This was the last thing Hakuryuu wanted to happen. The dresses could be replace and the horse too, but it would again rise a lot of questions and was way harder.

When he reached the palace the rain had gotten less, but it wind had increased. Maybe he should have packed more blankets – he had put two inside his bag, because it was so cold, but since he had no intention of stay here, he had not packed more. For a tiny second Hakuryuu regretted his decision. It would have been better to come here on another day. However, now he was here and because of the bad weather the chances of Judar also being here decreased. The other boy didn't looked like he liked the cold weather and his clothes also did not fit it. Maybe he was already sick – would be better for Hakuryuu, but there were no chances for him to check it. Yes, he knew it wasn't very nice to wish someone else something bad like an illness, but Hakuryuu was just a human and since when were humans always nice? Judar did not deserve his kindness anyway! Judar was a thief and a pervert and such people didn't deserve to be treated nicely. They deserved a kick in the ass!

And because Hakuryuu was such a lucky man, he would get the chance to give Judar a kick in the ass.


	5. Chapter 5

The stable was in a good shape, maybe even in a better one than the palace. Hakuryuu was quite happy that he had found the stable so fast and that it was in such a good state. The horse shouldn't have to suffer because of his selfishness. He also had thought about packing something to eat for it. After he had taken care of the horse, he entered the palace and first went to the room, he had used on his first visit here. It was a stupid thought, but somehow his mind wanted to trick him into believing that if Judar wasn't in this room, Judar wouldn't be anywhere near. Moreover the room was the only more or less familiar place in this palace, so it wasn't such a bad idea to start with his "investigation" from there, right? He knew how he got from the room to the exit and vice versa, so in case he would get lost, he only had to find his way back to said room – when he would still remember which way he had used. It would probably be harder to search for the exit right away. Although Hakuryuu hoped not to get lost at all, one could never know and it was better to careful.  
Inside the palace it was quite dark already, so Hakuryuu had to use the candles he had brought with himself, to see the way he was using. If the sky weren't covered by clouds, the moonlight would have been enough to see something, but this wasn't the case right now. Thinking about it, this was the perfect setting for a horror story. Hakuryuu never liked horror or ghost stories, while his older brother Hakuren loved them and always teased his younger brother with it. Because of one of Hakuren's pranks, Hakuryuu wasn't able to sleep at night a few months in the past. Afterwards Hakuren never made such a prank again – the scolding he had gotten from his mother was a lesson for life.  
Hakuryuu was tiptoeing to his destination, while constantly looking behind him, just in case someone was following him suddenly – for example someone like Judar. He was sure that the other one was the kind of person that would jump at someone in the middle of the night. Fortunately, he reached the room without anyone or anything attacking him. Inside the room he also was alone. No sight of Judar. Good! Hakuryuu put his bag on the ground and sat down. First he would check his things –although there was no reason for this, since he still should have everything he had put inside back at home. Also he wanted to get the candleholder he had taken with him. Hot wax on one's skin was not a pleasant feeling. Another thing he needed was his small notebook and a pen, so he could make himself a little map. This way chances to get lost were smaller and when he would return another time, he could see where he had already been and where not.

Due to the strong wind Hakuryuu feared his candle would be blown out, but fortunately such a thing did not happen. Moreover, Judar wasn't around. He neither had been in the room, in which he and Hakuryuu had met, nor had he been in any of the hallways Hakuryuu had crossed so far. However, what was here were are lot of insects. It wasn't like Hakuryuu was afraid of those tiny animal, but he also wasn't very fond of them. They looked disgusting and it was so hard to guess what they were about to do next. Also it did not feel very pleasant, when they scuttled on one's skin. It was a really awful feeling.  
Hakuryuu had decided to take the hallways to his right. When he stepped outside of the room he first wanted to go left, this was the way he had come, but then decided against it, because he wanted to see the inside of the palace – although it may be better to start the map with the entrance. However, his curiosity was stronger than his common sense. So far nothing bad had happened and with his map he could find the way back to "his" room and from there he would find the way out. If he was able to remember the way he only had used once some weeks ago, he wouldn't need a map for it now.

The palace was giant and had a lot of crossroads. It was hard to decide where to go first. Hakuryuu knew he couldn't investigate the whole palace today, but he wanted to see as much as possible, which was quite hard, when the place was this big and full of nooks and crannies. Furthermore, it seemed that the palace also was partly underground. On his way through the hallways Hakuryuu often spotted staircases, which led down. Until now he had not dared to use them. Maybe he would do so on a nicer day. Or when he was better prepared. Who knew what kind of strange creatures would wait for him in the underground?  
When he had seen the first staircase he had thought it would led to storage room – they had some storage rooms underground at home. When he had seen the second, he had thought this one would lead to the prisons, although he thought it was weird to have the entrance to the prisons in such a place. But who knew how things were at the time this palace was still inhabited? Only after seeing the third, fourth and fifth one, Hakuryuu doubted his previous assumptions and wanted to know what was underground, but as mentioned before, this would have to wait a little bit, since he was afraid of what might be there. In some horror stories undergrounds always meant death and dead bodies. Hakuryuu didn't want to die and he didn't want to see dead bodies either. He had seen some before, because of the war, but there was a difference between seeing them from afar or to trip over them. The only thing Hakuryuu had tripped over above were his own feet, because of the bad sight he hadn't seen the little rise in the wooden floor and tripped over it. Luckily he was able to hold his balance and hadn't had to kiss the floor. Not so good had his luck been shortly after, when he run into a giant spider web. Another awful feeling. Now, however, he was fine again. He was still alive, without any insects on his body, and this was the only thing that mattered. According to his map, in case he hadn't made any mistakes when drawing, he soon should reach another crossroad. This time however, he knew it already, because he had passed there, not so long ago – at least he thought it was not too long ago. His sense of time wasn't really working. One time he thought, he should go home, because he had been here for too long, and another time he thought that there was still plenty of time, because only a few hours may have passed. Without the sun to give him a hint how late it was, it was hard to say how long he had been here and whether he should go home or not.

When he reached the crossroad Hakuryuu decided to go back to his starting point. He was tired and hungry. Moreover, it got darker and darker with every passing minute. There was no use going home, when he couldn't see anything and the horse may have the same problem – also it might be too tired, when he waited any longer.  
Unfortunately, his plan was crushed by a certain someone with long black hair and red eyes. Judar was sifting through Hakuryuu's bag, when Hakuryuu entered the room. Of course, the young prince was far from pleased and he was angry with himself, because he had forgotten to take all of his belongings with him. Now Judar would probably claim the bag his own. Great! Really great.  
"Oh, so you're really here. That's good. It was getting quite boring without you. By the way you shouldn't leave your things here. What if some animal had eaten it or stolen? Well, it doesn't look like you have anything important with you, but it would still be annoying, right?", Judar said, when he saw Hakuryuu.  
How could this guy act as if they were friends, as if they hadn't had a dispute the last time they had met? How could this guy just sit on the ground, sifting through his bag and acting as if this was totally normal?  
"You have absolutely no manners!"  
This was the only thing Hakuryuu could think of as response. What else could he say? It was right that he hadn't took anything valuable with him – why should he – but it still would be quite annoying if it got stolen. Getting robbed never was nice.  
"I do have manners! I just prefer to not let them get in my way", Judar responded.  
Of course, his answer did not change Hakuryuu's opinion of him – to contrary now Hakuryuu disliked Judar even more. Because Judar knew he was doing something wrong, but instead of deciding not to do it, he did it.  
Without another word Hakuryuu grabbed his bag and left the room followed by Judar, who apparently had waited for the other one to come again.  
"Why are you like this? Your manners are even worse than mine! Neither did you greet me nor did you say goodbye and stop ignoring me!"  
Judar had problems keeping up with Hakuryuu's pace. The latter one was almost running out of the palace, because he wanted to get rid of Judar. And although he tried to ignore Judar's words, it was not possible. Inside Hakuryuu throw insults at the other one already, but kept silent at the outside.  
"Don't be like that! I know you can hear me quite well! And you also should hear the storm outside. If you leave now, you might not reach your home without getting sick, maybe you will even be injured on your way. Can you even see where you're going? If you ask nicely, I may help you. You know, I am a magician! The greatest magician this world has ever seen. I can keep the wind and rain away from you and make some light, so you can see where you're riding. As pay back I only demand you to come back from time to time. By the way, I know this place quite well, so I can help you with your investigations", Judar rambled on and on, hoping that Hakuryuu would show a reaction.

It was rare for people to enter the forest and even rarer that people made it into the palace. Those few, who were brave enough to go this far into the forest, often died. This was because of the defense magic that had been casted over the whole forest. Only another magician would be able to realize that a spell had been casted and could theoretically find a way to undo it. However, until today no magician had come, thus no one had find out about the magic and no one had tried to get rid of the spell. The person, who had casted the spell hadn't been Judar, but the person, who claimed to be his mother. Both, that person and Judar, knew that this wasn't the truth, but Judar did not care much about it, since he could do whatever he wanted, while the other person really saw Judar has her own child, although knowing that it hadn't been her, who had given birth to him.  
Judar's interest for Hakuryuu came from the very fact that the latter one had been able to reach the palace deep inside the forest without getting hurt or killed. At first he had assumed that the other one was a magician as well – a strong one – but when he had met him in person, he soon figured out that this wasn't the case. A normal human being able to go this far inside the forest was astonishing. Therefore Judar wanted to know more about the other boy. Unfortunately, after their first encounter Hakuryuu hadn't come back for quite a long time. Judar had waited for him day in, day out. Now that Hakuryuu was finally back, he wouldn't let the other one leave that easily. Living in this forest was extremely lonely. No one to talk to, no one to play with, no one to play a prank on, no one besides him and his mother. It was an extremely lonely, extremely depressing life.

When reaching the stable Hakuryuu came to a halt and turned around to face Judar, who almost bumped into Hakuryuu, because he had stopped abruptly. The two looked at each other in silent. The stable had a canopy, which Hakuryuu stood under, therefore he didn't get wet by the rain, while Judar was still standing in the rain. However, differently than Hakuryuu, who had gotten wet, when going from the palace to the stable, Judar was not. The latter one had used his magic to shield himself from the rain and if Hakuryuu wouldn't have been such an asshole, he might have also shielded the other one.  
"Will you ever shut up?", Hakuryuu asked with such a serious voice that Judar almost busted out in laughter.  
"Only when you promise to come back here every now and then", Judar answered, although he honestly had no intention of ever shutting up at all.  
Hakuryuu sighed. Judar was probably the most annoying person he had ever met until now and probably would always be the most annoying person.  
"Promise to never ever touch and even less steal my stuff again and that you will not utter a single words, when not asked", Hakuryuu demanded.  
He would definitely not come back here, as long as this whiny chatterbox was around. It was easy to promise to come back every now and then, since "every now and then" did not specify how much amount of time was meant. Furthermore, Judar wouldn't be at the palace all the time, right? So Hakuryuu could always say that he had been at the palace, but Judar hadn't been.  
"Yeah, sure. Promised."  
A big ass lie! This lie was so big and obvious that Hakuryuu actually wanted to tell Judar, to simply say "no". Yet, he ignored it and just turned around to enter the stable, so he could get his horse and return home. The weather wasn't getting any better, the same applied for the brightness around him. Actually, it even felt like it got darker with every passing second – maybe this even was the case. It had already been hard to see anything, when set out to the palace, now that some hours since then had passed, it was even worse. Every sane person would decide to stay at the palace for the night, but Hakuryuu didn't want to risk that his family found out that he wasn't at home.

Hakuryuu's way home was not a pleasant one and the bad weather was not the reason for that. The reason was a certain someone, who could not shut up for a second. Judar was so busy with complaining about his life in the forest and how annoying it was that his mother was always overreacting and never let him go on explorations – however, he still did it, just because it was fun to tease her. Hakuryuu on the contrary stayed silent. He did not even nod or made any approving sound. They both knew that he wasn't listening at all. At the moment he was busy with not going to murder Judar. Hakuren was a chatty person as well, but differently than Judar, Hakuryuu's older brother was able to tell, when it was time to simply shut up and let things be. Well, maybe this was because Hakuren could chat every day with a lot of people, while Judar only had his mother. Of course, he could talk to himself or with the animals in the forest – or the plants – but such a conversation was quite different than one with another human being. Although one could hardly call it a conversation, when it was only one person constantly talking, right? Somehow Judar had more of a loud monologue than anything.  
After Judar had promised to not steal Hakuryuu's stuff and to shut up, Hakuryuu promised in return to come over from time to time, thus now Judar was so kind and stuck to his words. With his magic Judar kept the wind and rain away from Hakuryuu and the horse. An uneasy feeling accompanied Hakuryuu the whole way. In the Kou Empire magicians were rare. The people of his empire did not believe in magic, they only believed and military strength. So he never learned to trust magic. He didn't even know how it worked. Hopefully Judar's magic would not give up halfway.  
In the end it wasn't Judar's magic that gave up, but Judar himself. As soon as city's walls were in sight, he stopped moving forward. Of course Hakuryuu wanted to know, what the problem was. According to Judar, he had never left the forest until now, because his mother had told him that some strange people were searching for him and that their hideout was inside the Kou Empire. Living inside the forest with its defense magic barrier was the only way for him to stay safe and this safety had already been threatened when Judar had left the forest. Stepping inside the capitol of the Empire was challenging his luck too much and despite Judar's brave attitude, he was not brave enough to put his freedom and life on the line, just to get Hakuryuu back home.  
"Don't tell anyone about me and later don't tell anyone about the palace and its treasures. If people hear about it, I am sure they will want to see it for themselves. It would be a huge problem for me and my mother, when more and more people come into the forest."  
Hakuryuu understood. For Judar and his mother the forest was their home and their safe space.  
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. It would harm me as well. As you know, my family is not all too happy with my fashion choice."  
"Yeah, I know. They are stupid, you look great in your dresses. They are the ones with no fashion sense at all! You should get rid of them, honestly. You deserve better! "  
And with these words Judar turned around and made his way back. The magical barrier that kept the wind and rain away from Hakuryuu was still there and it would last for a bit longer. Hopefully until Hakuryuu reached the palace. If Hakuryuu got sick – and in the worst case died because of this sickness – he wouldn't be able to pay Judar a visit and this was something Judar tried to avoid, since he was so sick and tired of feeling lonely.


End file.
